


Good Days

by Karita Wyr (karitawyr)



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: First Time, Humor, M/M, Romance, are we dating?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-15
Updated: 2020-05-15
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:15:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24204262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/karitawyr/pseuds/Karita%20Wyr
Summary: Any day Jack and Daniel are together is a good day, and the days just keep getting better.
Relationships: Daniel Jackson/Jack O'Neill
Comments: 2
Kudos: 37





	Good Days

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the J/D ficathon 2007 for raqs who requested food, no post season 8 fic, and the line, "You absolutely cannot put that there." This is set late season 3/early season 4. There's plenty of eating and drinking, too. Most of the (Earth) places mentioned in this fic are real places in and around Colorado Springs. 
> 
> Originally published July 11, 2007.

"Try this," Sam commanded, thrusting a large paper cup under Daniel's nose.

Dutifully, Daniel took a sip and grimaced at the taste. "Ugh. What's that supposed to be?"

"Diet Pepsi."

"That's just not right. It tastes like sweetened camel spit." To get rid of the offensive taste, Daniel rubbed his tongue against the roof of his mouth. The tactic didn't work, and now his tongue felt tingly.

Dropping the cup with a wet thwack into the nearest trashcan, Sam said, "Please, don't ever tell me how you know that. Let's go find out what the others are up to." She took Daniel's arm, and they continued their stroll through Manitou Springs' indoor/outdoor arcade.

It was a warm Friday night in late September. They were out for what the Washington bigwigs called a team building experience. Most of the SGC referred to these jaunts as Odds and Evens. Major Ferretti, however, called them the Odd and Odder Nights. In odd numbered months the odd numbered teams along with half of the remaining staff and their families gathered for a social event The even numbered team did the same in the opposite months. This month the social planners had decided on a trip to the historic arcade, and it seemed to be a big hit, nasty diet soda notwithstanding.

Cassie Fraiser challenged anyone who dared to a game of air hockey. So far, she had beaten Jack, Sam, and was well on her way to defeating all of SG-7. Teal'c had positioned himself in front of Galaxia game with a roll of quarters. Despite claiming, "This enemy's strategy is poor. These are not warriors to be feared," he hadn't moved from his spot for over an hour.

Anxious to check out the antique games in the penny arcade, Daniel pried Teal'c away from galactic domination and hauled Jack and Janet out of the skeeball hall. Streams of prize tickets, Jack's winnings, hung out of his back pockets. Daniel noticed light-fingered Cassie relieving him of a few dozen before running off to join a group of kids around her age. Jack smiled as he watched them run off.

"O'Neill. Look." Teal'c pointed to the name of the arcade painted in the window. It read "Bingo Jack's."

Before Jack could protest, Teal'c picked him up and planted him next to the sign.

"He is ready, Major Carter." Teal'c advised, stepping back.

Sam pulled a small camera from behind her back and snapped off a few shots of Jack standing uncomfortably by the sign. Finally, getting his head together, Jack bitched, "You guys planned this."

"Of course," Janet responded with a cheeky grin. She too snapped a few pictures. "I think this one is going up in the commissary. Smile, honey."

"Vicious wenches," Jack accused the two women.

"The Vicious Wenches. That sounds like a great band name," Daniel mused. "What do you think, Jack?"

"I think I'm wondering if you had anything to do with this," Jack said, voice dipping down in to the register that frightened soldiers and small animals alike. Unfortunately for Jack, it never worked on Daniel.

"Not a thing, although I was around for the planning stage. And you know, you could move at any time," Daniel pointed out.

"What? Oh yeah." Jack grabbed Daniel's sleeve and dragged him into Bingo Jack's. The others followed.

The arcade was dimly lit, and the well-worn hardwood floor creaked beneath their feet as they spread out through the room crowded with antique games. Sam was awestruck. She made a complete circuit of the room oohing and ahhing over the mechanical games, most of which only cost a nickel or dime to play. Janet was drawn to the brightly-colored In the Sultan's Harem. Jack found two hockey games right next to each other, and settled in to play Goalie. Teal'c favored Space Pilot.

"Hey guys. Check these out," Daniel called from the back of the room. The others came to investigate Daniel's discovery. He was standing in from of a set of three machines that invited you to get a check up on your love life.

Janet crowded to the front of the group. "What is your capacity for love?" she read. "Oh, I'm trying this one. Jack, give me nickel."

"Yes, ma'am," Jack said, dutifully dropping a nickel into the coin slot.

The test seemed to involve nothing more than squeezing a pair of handgrips for a few seconds until the machine worked its mojo and lit up a response. It decreed that Janet was 'Reckless.' She seemed inordinately pleased.

Up next, Sam got 'Lovable.' Jack made a comment under his breath that sounded like, "Now, ain't that sweet." She poked him in the ribs and insisted he take the next turn. He was proclaimed a 'Good Liar.'

"That's so not true!" he declared. Daniel raised an eyebrow at that. Janet raised two.

When it was Teal'c turn, he squeezed the grips so hard the machine actually groaned with the stress. For his efforts, Teal'c was rewarded with the designation of 'Faithful.'

Daniel wandered off when he realized that his companions would make him take a turn as well. Sam and Janet attempted to cajole him into giving it a shot.

"No really, it's not necessary." Daniel got the feeling he wasn't getting out of this, but he'd be damned if he wasn't going to put up a fight. He should never have pointed out the stupid machines in the first place.

"Sure it is. I bet you get 'Lovable,'" Janet reckoned.

"Come on, Dannyboy. We all did it. It's your turn. I'll even pay. And if you're a good boy I'll buy you ice cream later," Jack said, smirk firmly in place.

"Lay off, Jack. I'll do it." Daniel marched up to the machine, held out a hand for Jack's coin, and dropped it in the slot. Holding his breath and closing his eyes, he wrapped his right hand around the grips and squeezed.

The first sign that something had gone terrible wrong was a snicker from Sam, followed by a, "Well, I’ll be," from Janet. Daniel opened his eyes and looked. There it was, lit up in sickening yellow, 'Good Necker.'

Jack clapped a hand on Daniel's shoulder. "How 'bout that? Still waters run deep, eh?" Daniel blushed.

"O'Neill. I do not think Daniel Jackson is comfortable with being teased," Teal'c admonished his team leader.

"Aw, he can take it. Can't you, Danny?" Jack ruffled Daniel's hair, because he knew Daniel hated having it done, then turned to Sam and Janet. "I guess you ladies can find out if it's true come mistletoe season."

"Why wait?" Janet asked. She drew Daniel to her and whispered in his ear, "Play along." They kissed like teenagers in the back of a '67 Chevy at a bad drive-in movie.

When the kiss ended, they both looked smug. Janet gave Jack an impish smile. "Oh my goodness, that machine is amazingly accurate!"

"Anybody else want to try?" Daniel asked, hoping the kissing demonstration was enough to embarrass Jack into shutting the hell up.

"I shall wait my turn until the Christmas festivities," Teal'c declared solemnly.

"It looks like you're going to have to get in line, Teal'c buddy. I imagine it'll be a long one," Jack said, giving Daniel a sideways glance. "Oh yeah, and it'll start behind me."

Daniel's jaw dropped. "What?" he asked as Jack sauntered off. Then Daniel remembered. Jack was a good liar.

*^*

A month later, the Odds attended a hockey game at the Air Force Academy. SG-1 had front row seats directly behind the Plexiglas barrier. Jack kept rooting for a good fight to break out right in front of him, but the Air Force boys were too well-behaved for that.

At the end of the second period, Sam had a close encounter with the team's falcon mascot, who was walking past them on the way to the locker room. The bird stopped in its tracks in front of her, leaned over, and lovingly stroked her red suede shoes. She gasped, drawing Teal'c attention away from the Zamboni, affectionately known as Ice Force One, that was beginning its circuit of the ice. He glared at the mascot, who squeaked and scampered off. Jack and Daniel looked at one another and shrugged. Teal'c returned his attention to the ice.

"I'm telling you, the mascot was a girl. No man is that interested in shoes. And she was short," Jack insisted after the game.

Daniel stared out the passenger window at the passing road signs, catching his reflection in the darkened glass. He looked happy, content. He was. Arguing with Jack was one of his favorite pastimes, on Earth or off, in a speeding truck or standing still. It was all good, even when they were really angry because it meant that they cared enough to share how they felt, explain what they meant, what they needed. It was important, the way it should be.

"Jack, it had to be a guy. He went back to the locker room with the team. And what? You've never heard of a foot fetish? Or a man under 5'8"?"

"Of course, I've heard of a foot fetish. I don't get it, but I've heard of it. Feet are just so…feety."

"Feety? That's a proper anatomical term, right?

"You betcha. Now can we talk about something other than pervy little men who dress like birds of prey?"

"Sure, I'm hungry. And I believe someone promised me ice cream a month ago."

Jack scratched his head with his right hand while maneuvering around a particularly slow SUV. "We could take the next exit and swing by Josh and John's," Jack said, naming the local favorite ice cream parlor. "They should still be open."

"That is an excellent idea."

"I aim to please."

"Sometimes."

"Yeah."

Josh and John's was indeed still open, but deserted due to the late hour. It wasn't like it would take them long to choose what to order. Neither man varied their choice after having discovered their favorite flavors. Jack always asked for Rocky Mountain Road and Daniel, surprisingly, ordered Chocolate Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip rather than the expected Pikes Perk Coffee.

Jack insisted on calling the college-aged kid behind the counter Chuck, although his nametag clearly said Ryan. "Chuck" seemed to take it in stride. He'd probably been called much worse.

On the wall across from the counter, the owners had hung a world map. A sign next to it encouraged patrons to take one of the pins provided and stick it into the map to indicate their hometown or, as Daniel put it, their point of origin. There were even four pins stuck in the North Pole.

"Unless Santa and Mrs. Claus have been here with a couple of the elves, I doubt that's accurate," Jack said around a big bite of ice cream. "We need to bring Teal'c here so he can stick a pin on the wall across the room. Maybe by Chuck's head."

"Nah," Daniel said while licking up a stream of melted ice cream that was venturing down the side of his cone. "I'd have to check with Sam or Walter to be sure, but if Earth were a microscopic pinprick on this wall, then Chulak would be a microscopic pinprick on a wall two or three stores down from here."

Jack was fascinated by how Daniel was licking his ice cream, a little too fascinated as his devotion to watching caused him to nearly choke on his own. He cleared his throat. Talking might be less likely to kill him than eating. "What about Abydos? That would be much closer, right?"

"Oh yeah. It would be somewhere near the napkin holder." Daniel finished his cone and looked down at his hands. They were covered with the streaks of chocolate he hadn't caught with his tongue. "Speaking of napkins, I've made a mess. You'd think I was five again. I'll be right back. Just gonna wash my hands."

When Daniel returned from the restroom, Jack was standing in front of the map, randomly moving the pins around. He seemed occupied with this task, but Daniel knew he couldn't have been there the whole time. Across the room, stuck in the stack of napkins, was a tiny blue pin.

*^*

"What's this?" Jack asked, turning the triangular object this way and that between his fingers.

"Well, it came out of the bread basket, so I'd say it was some sort of bread." Daniel said without looking up from his menu.

"It looks like it's covered with birdseed."

"If it doesn't look appealing to you, don't eat it, but don't play with it either." Daniel took an identical piece of bread from the basket. "Someone else might want it."

Jack dropped the piece of bread onto his plate. "They, or rather you, are welcome to it."

Daniel slathered his slice of bread with butter and took a bite. There was a bit too much rosemary for his taste, but otherwise it was quite good. He finished the piece and reached for the one Jack had abandoned.

"Better watch it with the bread," Jack warned.

"Why? Will it spoil my appetite?" Daniel asked, twirling his butter covered knife like a sparkler.

Jack shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe you have a tendency towards large assedness."

"Large assedness? Did you read this in the same book with 'feety'? You need a new book because your anatomy knowledge has not improved in the last two weeks."

"You know what I mean. Like the Janarians."

"Ah. That was strange. I can't image why nature would select for that attribute."

"Unless it was the land of accountants and toll booth workers," Jack commented just as their waiter arrived with their dinners, lasagna for Jack and Gnocchi Bolognese for Daniel.

Jack thanked the waiter since Daniel was too busy sputtering into his napkin to be polite.

"Is he all right?" the waiter asked.

Jack smiled and waved the man off. "He's fine. Happens all the time. Can't take him anywhere."

The waiter gave them a speculative look before turning his attention to a couple two tables away.

Daniel grabbed his glass of water and downed half of it. He looked at Jack who was grinning maniacally at him, and drank the other half. "Why do I put food in my mouth while you're talking? You'd think I would have learned by now."

"Ya'd think. You just must be stupid like that."

"Yeah, well I never imagined you'd come up with a planet full of large assed accountants. Silly of me really. Now be quiet and let me eat."

They enjoyed their meal in companionable silence for a while, but Daniel couldn't resist starting the conversation up where they'd left off. "You know, Janaria was probably the most awkward for Sam."

"Why's that?"

"Oh, that's right. You missed it since you and Teal'c were off with the Chief Administrator. On three or four occasions as we toured the capital city, women came up to Sam and expressed how sorry they were that she didn't have hips wide enough for child-bearing."

"No way."

"Oh yes, way."

"I wish I'd been there for that."

"Sam's rather glad you weren't," Daniel said, noting Jack's mischievous smile. "You aren't going to mess with her head. Are you?

"Who me?" Jack tried for an innocent look and missed it by a light year, ending up somewhere between impish and soap opera villain evil.

"Yeah, that's what I thought. Go easy on her, that's all I ask. That, and can I be hiding around the corner when you do mention it?"

After dinner there was a brief dispute over who would pay the bill. Daniel acceded defeat graciously when Jack glared at him and slapped his credit card on the table.

Jack drove Daniel back to his apartment. It was late and they both had to be at the mountain early the next morning. Before getting out of the truck, Daniel placed his left hand over Jack's right which was clutched around the gear shift, and gave Jack's hand a brief squeeze. "Thanks for dinner. I had a good time," he said, and then he hopped out of the truck and went into his building.

Jack stared after him, head tilted to the side, mind at work on the puzzle that was Daniel Jackson. He couldn't figure the puzzle out, so he shook his head to clear it and drove home.

*^*

The next morning, Jack entered Daniel's office and stopped short at the sight of his friend on his hands and knees reaching under a bookshelf. From his vantage point, Jack could tell that the bread was having no effect on the quality of Daniel's butt. He couldn't recall ever having seen a finer one.

Daniel called out, "Jack, I know you're there. Can you give me hand?"

"Gee Daniel, have you got eyes in the back of your…" Jack looked again at Daniel's enticing backside. "Never mind. What's the problem?"

Daniel rose up onto his knees and scooted across the cement floor to a worktable covered with paper, books, and photographs. He picked up the top two photos and handed them to Jack. "Do you remember that metal disc you found in your pocket after the NID sting? The one you can't remember picking up?"

"You thought it was a coin, and I said it looked like a crushed cog."

"That's the one! It may be neither. I think it's a key," Daniel said excitedly. If a man could jump up and down on his knees, Jack would swear that that Daniel would be. As it was, having Daniel on his knees in front of him was making things of Jack's go up and down. His heart rate was going up and his thoughts were going down, to the gutter. Odd, his mind had never really taken this downward path around his friend before.

"A key to what?' he asked when he had managed to yank his thoughts back up into PG-13 range.

"Look at the first picture," Daniel instructed. "SG-10 took this yesterday on P3R-526."

Jack studied the photo. There wasn't much to it, just a sand colored wall with a small indent in it. "So?"

"Look at the second picture."

This picture was a close-up view if the indentation. "That spot on the wall, it's shaped just like my cog."

"Key," Daniel corrected. "A key I need to find. It was right here on this table and now it's disappeared." He returned to searching the floor for the missing key.

Jack leaned his elbows on the worktable to study the photos. "Hey, Daniel. I got a question"

"What?" Daniel's muffled voice echoed out from under the table.

"Didn't this table used to wobble?"

"Yeah. So?"

"It doesn't now."

"Maybe someone finally fixed it," Daniel suggested.

"Dream on, Dr. Jackson."

Jack got down on his hands and knees and joined Daniel under the desk.

"Ouch," Daniel exclaimed when Jack's presence forced him to hit his head on a table leg. He couldn't get out from under the table. Jack was more or less surrounding him on two sides and the third and forth were taken up by a large filing cabinet and a wall.

"Jack, don’t you think we're a little too old and a lot too big to be playing fort under the table?"

"Shh. I'm checking on something."

"Well, let me out and then you can check all you want."

"Patience," Jack urged. "Are you hyperventilating?"

"No, just hurry up so I can get out of here before I embarrass myself." Daniel managed to turn himself so that he was sitting hunched over rather than kneeling.

"All right already. I think it was this back leg that was too short." Jack pulled at the table leg until the whole table shifted right. The tiny movement revealed what the leg had been resting on. "Aha. My cog."

"Key. And it's not yours, Jack. Thanks for finding it. I could kiss you for that, but I don't think I can get into the proper position from here."

"Save it for later," Jack said, backing out from beneath the table. He reached down for Daniel's hand and gave him a help up.

"So now what?" he asked.

"Now I get to go back to P3R with SG-10 and see what this key unlocks."  
"Then I'm going, too," Jack declared.

"Why do you want to go?"

"Because you're going, and besides, it's my cog," Jack said on the way out the door

"Key!" Daniel yelled after him.

*^*

General Hammond readily agreed to a return mission to P3R-526. He assigned Jack as mission commander because Jack insisted he be allowed to tag along and safeguard his cog. Jack rather suspected Hammond knew that he was more interested in safeguarding his archaeologist.

The planet was just as barren and deserted as SG-10 had described. Nothing but blowing sand as far as the eye could see. Blowing sand and one large cube-shaped structure the same color as the rest of the planet. It looked like a bank designed by a rather unimaginative architect. The only decorations on the exterior of the structure were a few haphazardly placed columns. There was no writing or any symbols on the walls, nothing to indicate the building's purpose and no door through which to enter. Nothing but the small indention at about waist height.

On his previous visit to the planet, Lieutenant Lightner of SG-10 had determined that the structure's walls were reinforced with some sort of alloy, probably trinium-based. There was no way through the walls unless the key worked.

"All right, let's get this show on the road. Daniel, you're up." Jack said. He took up a position behind and to the right of Daniel. SG-10 took up positions in a semi-circle behind them.

Daniel gently fit the key into the indentation, lining it up so all the various sized teeth fit perfectly. Nothing happened.

"Now what?"

"I have no idea."

"Whaddya mean you have no idea?" Jack asked. "You're the idea guy."

"Uh, thanks, I think. What I meant was that I have some ideas, but I don't know if any of them will work."

"Try one! Heck, try 'em all."

Daniel tried twisting the key in the slot, then pushing it inward. No luck. He and Jack pushed at the walls near the keyhole. Still nothing.

"Oh, fer cryin' out loud." Jack shoved Daniel out of the way and pressed the key hard. A section of the wall slid away silently.

"Whoa!" Jack jumped back a foot.

"How did you do that?" Daniel asked. "I tried the exact same thing."

"Magic fingers," Jack replied.

Daniel smirked. "I'll just bet."

Turning to SG-10, Jack issued orders, "Dr. Jackson and I are going in. If for some reason this door closes and we lose radio contact, return to the SGC, report to Hammond, and find a way to get us out of there. Got it?"

Four voices answered, "Yes, sir."

"Radio checks every fifteen. We should be back in under an hour."

For the first fifteen minutes of their inspection, they found nothing but empty rooms. By the second radio check, they had discovered rooms full of what appeared to be broken bits of furniture and some odd piles of wires and trash.

At the center on the structure there was a huge room, easily twenty times the size of any other the others they had explored. Daniel was pondering the room's purpose, storage room or meeting hall, when he spotted a small flat object in the dead center of the room. He rushed over with Jack hot on his heels.

The two men walked around it several times. The object refrained from exploding, emitting poison gas, or causing the ceiling to cave in. It just sat there looking for all the world like a large remote control, but was likely some sort of data storage device. Daniel pulled a pen out of his pocket and poked the object as if it were a sleeping snake.

He picked it up, pressed a few buttons, and the device lit up. "Power source is still good. I doubt it's been here too long."

Jack peered over Daniel's shoulder as he perused the information provided on the device. The language looked vaguely familiar and there were schematics for something that Daniel flipped through at an ever increasing rate.

"Wow! This is incredible," Daniel exclaimed waving the device in the air as he paced the center of the floor. "Do you have any idea what this is?"

"Meaning of life stuff?" Jack guessed.

"No, but I think you'll appreciate this more. Unless I miss my guess, and Sam will have to verify this, I believe these are schematics and instructions for building a modified version of Thor's Hammer. I don't have a complete enough grasp of the Asgard language to decipher all the technical jargon, but it appears that when complete the device uses short range beaming technology to beam Goa'uld to a designated holding facility."

"If for some reason the Goa'uld found out our iris codes and came through the 'gate, a device like that in the gateroom would beam them to a cell inside the mountain?"

"Yes, I believe so. It could also prevent any Goa'uld or Jaffa with symbiotes from entering the facility from topside. That's what happened in the reality I experienced in the quantum mirror. Short of a nuclear strike, we'd be safe inside the mountain."

Jack looked around the huge empty room. "Okay, this is a good thing, but why was it left here like a gift in this big honking package?"

"It has to be a gift from Thor."

"How do you figure that?"

"You found the key in your pocket after the NID sting? After the Asgard had beamed all their stolen stuff away, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I think Thor beamed that to you. It and this are a thank you gift. He set this up so he could give you something without having to explain to the council that he gave us advanced technology. It would look like we just created it on our own."

"If that's right, it's better than a box of chocolates or a case of Turtle Wax, but there's a flaw in your theory. Thor could never know that we'd find this place, even if he did give us they key."

Something about this whole scenario was bothering Jack. He wouldn't put it past Thor to rig something like this up. Lord knew the sneaky little bugger had it in him. Jack knew Daniel was right; they were just missing a piece of the puzzle. Then he remembered exactly when Thor told them, or more precisely, he and Hammond, about this planet.

"Dang it, he did tell us about this place. When Thor came to Hammond and me about their missing tech, we realized it had to be those NID jokers working from an off world base. While we were trying to come up with a plan to flush them out, Thor gave us a list of several dozen gate addresses to planets the Asgard knew they could not be. He even indicated several that had no Goa'uld presence that we might find interesting."

"And this address was on there?" Daniel asked.

"I'm pretty sure it was. All those 'interesting' sites were added into the rotation, specially marked as good destinations for teams with new members," Jack explained.

"Like SG-10? Lightner's new, right?"

"Yep. SG-10's previous run here was his first trip through the gate."

Daniel was still studying the data. "There are some areas of concern with this, but nothing we can't overcome. How not to end up with Teal'c, Bra'tac, or the Tok'ra in a holding cell being my number one concern."

Jack wrinkled his nose at the mention of Tok'ra. "I wouldn't mind if those sneaky snakeheads cooled their heels behind bars a bit."

"Jack…"

"Don't get me wrong. Jacob and Selmak are tops," Jack conceded, "but the rest, I can take 'em or leave 'em."

Daniel was well aware of Jack's feeling about the Tok'ra. Heck, he shared most of them. They never did come through with everything they said they would. Some friends were just better friends than others, and it looked like Thor had just moved to the top of the list.

"It's a good thing Thor's so fond of you or we'd never have gotten this," Daniel said.

"He does have a soft spot for me, doesn't he?"

"I'd say so."

"You jealous?" Jack asked.

"Definitely," Daniel answered. He clicked on his radio. "SG-10, this is Jackson. We found what we came for and are heading back your way."

*^*

By the following Sunday, Daniel and several other linguists had enough of the Asgard data translated for Sam and her crew of scientists to began work on the modified version of the Hammer. Daniel was exhausted from the long hours spent on the translations. He planned to spend most of the day in bed or, at the very least, on the couch. He was sorely tempted to ignore the ringing telephone that woke him.

Groggily, he reached for the receiver. "Yeah, uh-huh, " he muttered when he had the receiver somewhere reasonably close to his head which was still mostly buried under the covers.

"Wakey-wakey. Time to get up," Jack sing-songed over the phone.

"Jack, why are you calling me at…" Daniel peered at his alarm clock and groaned. Damn, still morning. He was hoping it was at least noon.

"It's eleven in the morning, Daniel. It's time for you to get your lazy butt out of bed. I'm coming to get you in thirty and we're going to the flea market.

"Why?"

"Because I'm feeling the need for some crappy, bootlegged DVDs from the Far East, that's why. Be ready." Jack hung up.

Daniel stared at the receiver until it started making that obnoxious hang-up-the-phone-or- we'll-liquefy-your-brain noise that the phone company loved. He threw back the covers and got out of bed, but not without a few choice words about pushy men named Jack.

Thirty-one minutes later he was snapping his seatbelt closed in Jack's truck. "So really, why the flea market?" he asked.

"I don't know. I just wanted to go out and maybe spend some time with you since you've been hidden away most of the week. Is that okay?" Jack spouted his answer with his usual bluster, but Daniel noticed that his hands were wrapped tightly around the steering wheel. He was nervous.

Daniel tried to put him at ease. "That's' more than okay. I've missed spending time with you, too. And besides, there are some book dealers out there that might have something for Cassie. She loves vintage books."

"Wonder where she got that fascination from," Jack said with a teasing smile.

Daniel returned the smile. "I have no idea."

The flea market was quite a ways east of town, so they stopped for drive-thru burgers on the way. For once, Jack made an exception to his no eating in the truck rule. Daniel was careful not to spill ketchup on the upholstery.

Jack paid the dollar entry fee for each of them. The day was breezy, but not too cold, although according to the Weather Channel that would likely be changing by mid-afternoon. They decided to work methodically, starting to the right to see as much as possible before the impending storm arrived.

Most of what was available for sale was junk. The stalls abounded with replica swords, ancient camping gear, cheap plastic toys, and yes, bootleg DVDs. However, there were occasional gems. Jack found a vintage fan shaped like an airplane. It didn't work, but he was certain he could fix it or knew just the geek who could. Daniel picked up several unique books for Cassie and two for himself.

Eventually Jack gave up serious shopping and started zeroing in on the tackiest things in the market. It was as if he had some sort of built-in bad taste detector. It was fun; however, Daniel wasn't entirely positive Jack knew what he found was god awful. He appeared so earnestly eager about the junk he pointed out.

For instance, he found a stall full of fleece blankets, most of which had hideous southwestern designs. Some featured unicorns and rainbows or rampaging tigers. The one Jack took an interest in had a large marijuana leaf on it.

"I'm thinking of putting that in the guest bedroom. It's the right colors, I think."

Daniel shook his head vehemently. "No. You can't be serious. You absolutely can not put that there."

"Why not?" Jack looked mystified.

"It's not appropriate for an Air Force Colonel to promote drug culture."

"Oh, okay. How about that one?" Jack indicated a blanket that had a giant Bob Marley head on it.

"That is possibly worse. I'd never be able to sleep in that room again. No."

Jack looked at the blanket, and then back at Daniel. "You could always sleep in my bed."  
*^*

Jack was buying a couple of sodas when he noticed Daniel staring off at the mountains to the west. The wind flitted through Daniel's short hair and the late afternoon sun peeked through the clouds to light up his face. He looked content.

"You aren't thinking about work are you?" Jack asked as he handed Daniel his root beer.

"No, definitely not. I was just contemplating how lucky we are to be doing what we do, to be living here, to have that as a view." Daniel lifted his cup to indicate Pikes Peak in the distance. "Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of things I wish I had never seen, events I wish I could have stopped, loved ones who are gone that I will miss. Yet today…today is a good day."

"Yeah. Good day. Great view," Jack agreed. He was looking at Daniel, not the mountains.

*^*

A gentle rain had begun to fall by the time pulled the truck up in front of Daniel's apartment building. It pattered against the windshield, almost disguising the sound of Daniel's fingers tapping against the door.

Daniel eased the door open, gathered up his purchases, leaned over and kissed Jack on the lips. He whispered, "Thanks, Jack, I had a good time." Then he briefly pressed his lips to Jack's once more before getting out of the truck and dashing into his building.

*^*

Three days later, Jack was still wondering what that kiss was all about. Daniel had been holed up with Carter and company on the Hammer project, and he hadn't seen much of him except at group meals in the commissary. It wasn't like Jack really wanted to talk about it. He wouldn't mind repeating the experience however, just so he could wrap his head around it better. A nice controlled experiment, purely scientific, of course. And who was he kidding anyway?

His doorbell rang just after eight. When he answered, he saw Daniel on his doorstep grinding leaves beneath the toe of his right shoe. He pushed in past Jack who shut the door automatically.

Daniel whirled around to face Jack, running a hand through his already disheveled hair. "The way I see it," he said in a rush, "we've been on three or four dates and things seem to be progressing well, and we can go on like this for a while longer if you want, but I'm ready to put out if you are."

Jack couldn't even begin to contemplate the 'put out' portion of Daniel's little speech, so he focused on the part that might be easier to discuss. "Dates?"

"Yes, Jack, dates. We have been dating."

"No." Jack shook his head in denial. "That wasn't…this isn't… dating. I'd know."

"What exactly are you objecting to? Dating me or not realizing you were dating me? Because I got to tell you, Jack, this last month and a half had all the classic hallmarks of dating. You've flirted. I've acted jealous. You stared at my ass when you thought I wouldn't notice. I've kissed you and you certainly didn't object. You even offered to share your bed with me."

"I thought you'd think I meant to sleep, not what I really meant which was not sleep. And why I am arguing with you?"

"What do you mean?

Jack advanced on Daniel, forcing him back a few steps. "What I mean is, will you really put out on a fourth date?"

"For you? Oh yeah." Daniel stalked over to Jack and wrapped his arms around him. "You ready for this?"

"Definitely," Jack answered. To prove he meant it, he pulled Daniel closer, until a sheet of paper wouldn't have fit between them. Jack looked his fill of Daniel's flushed face, stopping at Daniel's kissable lips. He leaned forward and fit his lips to Daniel's. The chaste kiss they had shared in the truck three days ago had in no way prepared Jack for what a real kiss from Daniel Jackson was like.

Even though Jack had initiated the kiss, Daniel soon took charge, his tongue making tiny sweeps against Jack's lips, asking for entrance. Jack obliged. Any thoughts Jack had about Daniel being a shy lover or even remotely passive were swept away. Daniel owned that kiss, start to finish, from the way he stroked his hands from the small of Jack's back down to his ass, to the way he drew the kiss out by softly rubbing their lips together.

Jack gasped for breath, blinking rapidly, unable to look anywhere but at Daniel. Surely the portions of Jack's brain controlling breathing and possibly speech had been fried. He licked his lips and found Daniel's taste lingering there.

"Well?" Daniel prompted when Jack continued to stare at him.

Finally Jack's synapses began firing again, and he discovered he could speak. "Two things. One, dating is way over-rated. This is much, much better. Two, in your case, that love tester at the arcade was deadly accurate."

"There's more," Daniel promised, eyes alight with desire.

"You are going to kill me," Jack said as Daniel took his hand and led him back to the master bedroom.

Once in the bedroom, Daniel flicked the light on with one hand while tugging Jack's shirt out of the waistband of his jeans. He unbuttoned the bottom two shirt buttons and dropped gracefully to his knees to work on opening Jack's belt buckle.

"Uh, Daniel, whatcha doin'?" Jack asked.

Daniel looked up from his task. "Getting ready to unzip your pants, take out your dick, and blow you," Daniel said as he lowered the zipper.

"Oh, well don't let me stop you."

Daniel shoved Jack's jeans and boxers down to his knees, revealing Jack's eager erection. Without another word, he licked a wide stripe down the underside of Jack's dick, allowing the tip of his tongue to circle the crown. Jack gasped. That was more than enough encouragement for Daniel to begin sucking in earnest. He took as much of Jack's cock in his mouth as he was able, wrapping his left hand around the base, squeezing slightly at random intervals before easing the pressure. With his right hand, he teased Jack's balls, rolling them in his palm, then massaging them with his fingers.

As far as Jack was concerned, he'd discovered heaven. He moaned as Daniel plunged his mouth up and down his dick until Jack was buzzing with the need to come. "So good."

"Do you want me to finish you with my mouth or would you rather we do this another way?" Daniel asked, hands still at work on Jack's dick and balls.

"Huh?"

"Jack, you have done this before?"

"This what?"

"Had sex with a man."

Jack turned his head to the side, his cheeks flushed. "I've done this, gotten a blow job. Given one, too. Just not anything more."

Daniel stood and took Jack's face in his hands. "Do you want to do more?"

"Stupid question, Daniel. You are hot as hell, and I am dying here. So I want to know why I am half-naked while you're still fully clothed?" Jack asked, indicating his bare midsection.

Looking Jack up and down, Daniel said, "I wouldn't say half-naked, more like one-third."

"Whatever. The dangling bits are exposed," Jack insisted.

Daniel took Jack's dick back in hand, giving it a few firm strokes causing Jack to arch his throat and moan again. "The dangly bits really aren't so dangly right now," Daniel said.

"No, I guess not. Still, we have on too many clothes."

Daniel smiled one of those smiles that could light up half the continent. "Well, then you have two-thirds more undressing to do."

"And you have more than that to do. Can I watch you?" Jack asked.

"You first," Daniel insisted.

Unused to making a production of undressing, Jack removed his clothes with speed rather than style. When he was finished, he sat down on the bed and eyed Daniel expectantly.

One side of Daniel's mouth quirked up at the silent challenge. He fingered the hem of his t-shirt, lifting the material slightly, only to let it fall back down again. Instead of removing his shirt, he bent down to remove his shoes and socks, tossing them over by the closet. He grasped the hem of his shirt, smoothly pulling it up over his head.

Jack looked his fill. Daniel was strong, vital, handsome. Jack completely understood why out of all the men at the mountain, Hathor had chosen Daniel as her consort. The bitch hadn't been stupid. No one else would have compared.

Daniel thumbed open the button on his jeans and eased the zipper down. He slipped his hands into the waistband and pushed them and his underwear off in one fluid movement.

"Scoot back on the bed," he commanded. Jack did as he was told.

Daniel kneeled on the bed, straddling Jack's thighs. They spent a few moments just catching their breath before their mouths came to together in a wet, exploratory kiss. Daniel buried his face in Jack's neck, pressing kisses to the spot just behind Jack's left ear. He whispered huskily, "How do you want me?"

Jack couldn't answer; he seemed to have lost coherency about two pairs of pants ago.

"Let me make this easy on you," Daniel said, rolling them across the big bed until Jack lay on top of Daniel, between his spread thighs. "I like it like this, face to face."

"That totally works for me." Jack said, regaining his senses and climbing to his knees.

Handing Jack a tube of lube, Daniel said, "You'll have to prepare me."

"Where'd that tube come from?"

Daniel laughed. "I know a few tricks."

Jack took a pillow and slipped it under Daniel's hips. He squirted a generous amount of the lubricant on his fingers and slowly circled one around Daniel's opening.

"That's good, Jack. Go ahead." Daniel braced his feet on the mattress in anticipation of the intimate invasion. The finger slid in smoothly. Jack worked it in and out, watching Daniel's face for signs of distress. All he saw was ecstasy.

"More," Daniel growled. "Please, more."

The process was repeated with two fingers, then three. By the time Jack thought Daniel was open enough, Daniel was writhing on the bed, tossing his head back and forth on the pillow and begging for Jack's dick. The begging began when Jack had found Daniel's prostate and mercilessly and repeatedly teased a finger across it.

"Jack, if you don't take me now, I am getting up and leaving."

"Not like this you aren't," Jack said, rubbing a finger across that sweet spot once more.

"Ahh, Jack, please."

Jack took pity on Daniel and removed his fingers. "Condom?" he asked.

"Not unless you think we need one. It's been a while for me," Daniel answered honestly.

"Me, too." Jack squeezed more lube into his palm and slicked himself. When he was satisfied he was ready, he positioned himself at Daniel's entrance.

Jack pushed in slowly, but his lover wanted it hard and fast and wrapped his long legs around Jack's hips, urging him forward. Jack's concern for taking it slow went all to hell.

They were wild, thrusting together, gripping one another tightly. It was hard and fast, and that was just what they both needed.

Jack came harder than he could ever remember, shuddering as he released his seed deep into Daniel's body. Seconds later, Daniel's orgasm ripped through him, his semen spurting between them, warm and sticky.

They pulled apart slowly. Dragging in deeps lungfuls of air, Jack flopped to the side. With glazed eyes, he turned to gaze at Daniel who was looking smug and happy.

"That was amazing," he said.

"Yeah. Well, wait 'til you see what I do on a fifth date."

The End


End file.
